makumaro.net

Starting September

Getting used to having Alfie around now. Moved him to the backyard where he can do his business freely without me having to clean up after him and I think he prefers it there too, being able to run between the foliage and dig up trinkets hidden by the previous owner’s dog (a beagle). Alfie’s managed to unearth a rubber bone today and I wonder what else he’ll dig up. He’s pretty quick zipping in and out of the house and sometimes too quick for his own good when you walk about and step all over him.

* * *

Spring has announced itself but is still rather shy about appearing. It’s been raining quite a bit the last few days and only today was there sunshine. At least it seems the weather is getting warmer, or maybe I’m just ignoring how cold it is.

Work’s been kind of hectic, moving from budget to month end to covering for other colleague’s work. Being systematic about it, so trying to get as much done as possible. Just a little tired out from it all. Too much going on and everyone is busy doing things but nothing is aligned, so some other problems creeping up now.

Mom and bro have gone back to Malaysia, and wish I had spent a little more time to bring them around Melbourne. Will make better plans the next time they come around. I think I learned in the past few days that I need to be more decisive on what things I should be doing. Overwhelmed by work and getting used to Alfie, so maybe I was a little slack in caring about the things going on around me. It’s disappointing but you learn from your mistakes and hopefully history doesn’t repeat itself.

Need to allocate time to study my 2 subjects. There’s less than 2 months to get through the entire syllabus. Some discipline required I suppose. Should probably start on it now.

Out West

One of the signature dishes by Dan Hunter at his restaurant called the Royal Mail Hotel in Dunkeld, about 250km west of Melbourne. It’s called egg yolk, toasted rye, legumes and yeast. It’s an interesting dish with lots of texture and flavours. The yolk looks raw but the waitress assured as that it was cooked enough that she’d serve it to a pregnant woman.

We had 10 courses, and the selection of wine was from 1996 to 2002. A bottle from that far back would cost quite a bit these days and I don’t think I have the perseverance to keep it unopened for that long either. They have a large temperature controlled cellar opposite the restaurant that is twice its size. The vegetables and herbs are grown locally in their own garden, so the food is definitely fresh.

Our last entourage was to Tetsuya’s in Sydney last May. The food was hit and miss with some of the dishes being wow, and a few of them just plain bland. The food we had at the Royal Mail Hotel was subtle, with interesting flavours. Overall the quality of the food was great and matched the degustation style with the small portions. Ended the meal feeling contented but not overly stuffed as I normally am at these types of meals. This was also probably because they didn’t stuff us with bread every couple of courses.

Heh, will not go through all the courses we had, but will leave you with one of the desserts. rhubarb, licorice, almond, citrus. I liked the flavours a lot but it seems that not everyone was a fan of the licorice.

* * *

It was a good getaway weekend, taking the drive to Dunkeld, visiting neighbouring Hamilton. Stayed at a nice cottage overlooking Mount Sturgeon. Without the weather driving me insane with numbing cold, I’m back to planning and doing stuff again. I put little notes in the iPhone and it keeps me reminded of things I have to do.

Alfie is learning tricks, but when it comes to food, he’s too impatient that I can’t even get it in his food bowl before he puts his snout in. Toilet training is still a terrible mess, but he gets the sense that I have a hawkeye over him after his dinner so I hope he gets the idea on where he’s supposed to do his business and anywhere else will result in a big ‘NO’.

Time’s flying. Seems like there’s not enough of it. August is almost ended, and I’m slowly reading through my notes for the exams in October. Never expected to be this busy, heh.

Alfie

Say hi to Alfie. Pembroke Welsh Corgi. Adorably cute puppy. He’s been with us for a few days now and is a little more comfortable with the environment. Happily chewing on the mock bone Vyanne got him.

* * *

My mom and brother are here for a visit. Heh, the house was quiet for a week and now it’s become quite lively again. Vyanne was looking online for a Corgi breeder and there was one in the Dandenongs that had a couple of pups left for sale. We saw a picture of it when it was a few weeks old and just decided to have a look at them. I wasn’t really thinking about it but when we got to the breeder’s place, it was love at first sight. You won’t get anything more adorable than looking at puppies play with each other.

After some brief questions with the breeder regarding Corgis, we decided to take the red and white one home. He wasn’t thinking about it much but after a couple of minutes in the car, started to get a little distressed. Either he was worried he was leaving his home or that it was getting carsick. Poor dog threw up his lunch halfway through the trip (it’s quite a long way from the Dandenongs to where we stay). The first night was probably a little miserable for him as we kept him in the internal courtyard but it was raining quite a bit. Had a box for him to sleep in but it got rather wet. We gradually moved him indoors as we slowly toilet trained him to do his daily business in the right spots. Had to read up on this online to get a better idea on what needed to be done. It’s really as much a learning experience for us as it is for Alfie as we are all trying to figure each other out. Glad that mom’s here. Heh, she’s trying to get used to the Melbourne cold, and the weather’s been quite horrible. It’s rained every single day this past week, and there hasn’t been so much rain in Melbourne for the past 13 years.

* * *

Probably a little over summarised, but much has happened over the last week and I’m rather tired out. Just wanted to put up a post to get the gist of things. Off to bed now.